Tax Question - Child's Income

I'm an accountant and have had my degree for over 20 years. Your child does have to file a separate return but he shouldn't be claiming himself as a dependent. You can still and should claim you child as your dependent. If your child didn't have any expenses against this income the entire amount will be assessed with social security tax, he will owe social security taxes on that which will need to be paid by April 15th. If there were some expenses you had to pay in relations to this money you can reduce that amout by those expenses (Schedule C) and any prophet left over would be assessed social security taxes. You can at least have his return filled out before then to know what that income will be.

I hope this brought you some of the clarity you were looking for.

3 moms found this helpful

I dont think you have to use a minor childs income. But going to the irs website will answer that for you.

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No you can't if someone files separately it will clash if you file him as a dependent... he is 3.5 years old, he is your dependent... You'd probably have the IRS blowing up your phone all confused about a 3.5 yr old tax return :P, I giggled just thinkin about it. I believe you'd put it in with your income. Go to walmart when they do tax returns and ask them, I don't think they charge for questions (but you never know lol)

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i am pretty sure you just add it to your taxes, go to the irs.gov website and look for questions or call your local h&r block and ask them

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I just asked my accountant the same question and the answer was......if their income is over $6000 then you must file./ If they took taxes out and you want to get them back then you file any income. But for that amount you need not to file. However, I would check with the modeling guild to see if you can spend some or if you need to put into a locked account until your child is 18. The rules have changed since my kids did this type of work so I am not sure what the rules are.

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1/2 ditto Kimberly (I'm not an accountant, but the rest ditto). You file your child's taxes separately, but still claim him as a dependent (you put 0 dependents on HIS form).

My *PERSONAL* feeling is this: when in doubt, hire an accountant. Either the super easy H&R Block, or an individual (I personally prefer an individual, but H&R Block is the mickey D's of accounting, they're everywhere and their work is guaranteed).

Child actors' & child models' taxes can get complicated (especially if/when their income starts to exceed their parents). If you start getting into "serious" money, you will *definitely* need an accountant, because the majority of that money usually needs to go into a trust type of situation. Very few jobs allow children under 12 (acting and modeling being the two most common), 12 and over can get paid for farm work in most states, 15/16 and over for nearly every other type of job. Until they graduate from college however, (or if they join the military) the IRS doesn't bat an eye at a parent claiming a working child or young adult as a dependent. My dad actually goofed when I was 17 and claimed me as a dependent (when I was active duty military at the time)... THAT created a headache (honest mistake, he was retired military, he knew better, but just gaffled it... I'd been working as a model off and on for half my childhood, and then doing farm work and "real" work from 12 up. I was in the middle of a transfer so my tax info went to my 'address of record' which happened to be my parent's house and he was just in autopilot and then freaked out calling me a week after mailing in my stuff as part of theirs). DO be prepared, however, for credit card offers and stuff to start showing up in your daughter's name (shred them) AND start checking her credit report regularly for identity theft.

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According to the IRS, his gross income was over $950, therefore, a return needs to be filed in his name. Yes, you can still claim him as a dependent.

Go to www.irs.gov and type in "form 1040 instuctions" in the search box. This will give you more information. Probably best to consult an accountant (use a CPA not H&R Block or one of those types of services).

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L.,
Go to turbotax.com. You can efile for him free. It will walk you through each step and answer the questions you have.
I just did it for my 16 year old in less than 10 minutes.
Be careful taking advice from us who aren't accountants!
V.

1 mom found this helpful

Only an accountant can answer tis question correctly. I think lots of well meaning people can tell you anything and it may or it may not be correct. Please just call one and see if you can get a free consultation since it is just one question.

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